Questions to Ask Marine Recruiters
Good questions to ask a Marine recruiter before you sign anything, grouped the way the decision unfolds: which jobs are open to you, what the contract says, what could disqualify you, the pool and boot camp, pay and benefits, and daily life once you are in. The staples are all here, from the ASVAB score you need to how long boot camp lasts, alongside several that only come up with the Marine Corps, such as contracts written for a field instead of a job, open contracts, and the jobs the Navy fills.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Jobs
Which jobs are open right now for someone with my scores and record?
Why ask it
Openings move month to month, and a job you qualify for on paper may have no seats left this year. Ask to see the current list instead of hearing it described. 'You could qualify for that' is a possibility; 'I can put you in this program on this date' is an offer.
What ASVAB score do I need to enlist, and can I retake the test if I fall short?
Why ask it
There is a minimum overall score to get in at all, and it is higher for applicants without a traditional diploma, so ask for the figure that applies to you. Retakes are allowed, with waiting periods between attempts that lengthen if you keep retesting. A practice test in the office costs nothing and shows whether you are near the line before you sit the real one.
Can the job be written into my contract before I sign?
Why ask it
The enlistment paperwork is the whole of what the Marine Corps has agreed to. A spoken assurance that you will get your pick once you are in is not part of it, however sincerely it is meant. Have the recruiter point to the line where the program appears before you pick up the pen.
Does a Marine contract name one job, or a field with several jobs in it?
Why ask it
Usually a field. Most Marine enlistment contracts are written for a program, a bundle of related jobs, and the exact one is assigned during training according to what the Corps needs at the time. Get the full list of jobs in your program and decide whether you could live with the one you like least.
What is an open contract, and is that what you are offering me?
Why ask it
On an open contract you name no field at all and the Marine Corps places you wherever it is short. Some people take one happily because they want to ship soon or do not mind where they land. It should never be the default, so if one is put in front of you, ask which programs you were considered for first and why none of them is on the table.
Which of my test scores is keeping me out of the jobs I want?
Why ask it
Each field has its own cutoff on one of the composite scores built from the ASVAB, so an overall result that looks fine can still shut a door. Once you know which composite is short and by how much, you can judge whether studying and retesting is worth the wait.
If the field I want is full, how long would I wait for a seat?
Why ask it
Seats are tied to ship dates, so a program that is closed today may be open to someone leaving three or four months later. For most people the cost of waiting is a longer spell in the pool. Be wary if the only alternative offered is a different job that ships next week.
What does the school for that job involve after boot camp, and how long is it?
Why ask it
Job schools run from a few weeks to well over a year, and several are on Army, Navy or Air Force bases far from any Marine unit. Length matters twice: a long school can come with a longer contract, and it pushes back the day you have a normal routine. Ask where it is and how many of the people who start it finish.
What happens to my job if I fail the school or lose the qualification for it?
Why ask it
A failed course, an injury or a denied security clearance can each move you into a job you never picked. Find out who chooses the replacement, whether you get any say, and whether the length of the contract changes. 'Needs of the Marine Corps' is a blunt answer, and usually the honest one.
If I end up in a job I dislike, can I move to a different one later?
Why ask it
A change of specialty, called a lateral move, is mostly tied to reenlisting and to which fields are short at the time, so it is rarely a way out during a first contract. Ask whether the recruiter knows anyone who managed it and at what point in their enlistment. Plan as though the job you sign for is the one you will do until the contract ends.
What does this job set me up for as a civilian: a license, a certification, a trade?
Why ask it
Some fields map straight onto civilian work, such as aircraft maintenance, electronics or heavy equipment, and others have no close match outside. Ask which credentials Marines in the job actually finish while serving and who pays the exam fees. 'Leadership and discipline' is true of every job, so it does not answer this one.
I want recon or special operations: what can a contract promise now, and what has to be earned later?
Why ask it
Some selective communities only take Marines who are already serving, and for others a contract buys a try at the selection course, not the job itself. Pin down which applies to the one you have in mind and what you would be doing if you did not make it through. That fallback is the job you are really signing for.
I want to do medical work: is that a Marine job, or should I be talking to the Navy?
Why ask it
Marine units get their medics, called corpsmen, from the Navy, so a Marine recruiter has no medical job to put in a contract. The same goes for chaplains. The straight answer is a pointer to the Navy office, and an offer of 'something close to it' deserves a second look.
Can I talk to someone who shipped from this office and now does the job I want?
Why ask it
New Marines often come back through their recruiting office on leave, and some spend a few weeks helping there, so this is an easier request than it sounds. Someone a year or two in will describe the hours and the dull stretches that a brochure leaves out. Talk to them out of the recruiter's earshot if you can.
What do people in this job say is the worst part of it?
Why ask it
Every specialty has one: long hours on a flight line, weeks in the field, a desk, a duty station nobody requests. Getting a concrete complaint out of a recruiter is a good sign. 'There is no bad job in the Marine Corps' is a slogan, and it tells you to put the question to someone else.
Why did you join the Marine Corps, and would you make the same choice again?
Why ask it
Recruiters hear this one often, so the first answer may be polished. Follow it with what they would do differently: another job, another contract length, a later ship date. That second answer comes from experience instead of the pitch, and it tends to hold advice they would not have thought to volunteer.
What was your own job before recruiting, and how did you end up with it?
Why ask it
Recruiting is normally a temporary tour, so the person across the desk had another job first. Whether they picked it, were assigned it or settled for it is a first-hand account of how the system you are about to enter sorts people. Expect them to know that one field well and the rest from a binder.
Contract
How many years am I signing for in total, and how many of them are active duty?
Why ask it
The total obligation on the contract is longer than the active part, and the remainder is spent in a reserve status from which you can in principle be called back. Have both numbers written down. Then check whether the program you want carries extra active years, as some with long schools do.
What is the difference between enlisting active duty and joining the Reserve?
Why ask it
Reservists go through the same boot camp and job training, then go home to a civilian job or school and drill with a unit near them. The catch is choice: Reserve jobs are whatever the units within reach of your home need. Pay and benefits differ a lot as well, so get the two laid out side by side.
Can I read a blank copy of the enlistment contract and its annexes before the day I sign?
Why ask it
The real documents are usually produced at the processing station on the day, when you are tired and everyone is waiting. Reading a blank set a week earlier means the only thing left to check is that the blanks were filled in the way you were told.
If something you told me is not in the contract, how much should I count on it?
Why ask it
It is a fair question, and a good recruiter will say 'not at all' without taking offense. A preferred duty station, a particular school date and anything introduced with 'you will probably get' belong in this category. Go back through your notes from earlier visits and sort each item into written or spoken.
Once I have signed, can the ship date or the program change, and who has to agree to it?
Why ask it
Both get moved, sometimes because you asked and sometimes because a seat disappeared. Find out whether a change needs new paperwork with your signature on it. Be slow to accept a swap that is explained only in a phone call the week before you leave.
If I sign into the delayed entry program and then decide not to go, what happens?
Why ask it
Backing out before ship day and quitting after you have stood on the yellow footprints are handled very differently, so be clear which one you are asking about. Get the first process in plain words, including who you would tell. An answer made of warnings instead of steps is one to check with the recruiter's own boss.
If I finish training and find I hate it, can I leave before my contract is up?
Why ask it
Not by handing in notice. An enlistment has no resignation clause, and the early exits that exist run through medical boards, hardship cases or misconduct, each with its own effect on benefits and on the discharge you carry afterward. Hearing that said flatly is a mark in the recruiter's favor. If anyone suggests you can try it for a year and see, ask where the contract says so.
Is there anything you need me to decide today?
Why ask it
Almost always the true answer is no. Recruiters work to a monthly mission, so pressure in the last week of a month says more about their calendar than about your options. If a program is open to you now, ask when it is next expected to open and see whether the deadline survives the question.
How long do you have left on recruiting duty, and who takes over my file if you leave?
Why ask it
A poolee who waits six months to ship can end up with a recruiter who never heard the original conversation. Nothing bad is meant by it; tours simply end. It is the practical reason to have every promise on paper and to know the name of the Marine who runs the office.
Qualifying
What are the basic requirements to join the Marines, and do I meet every one?
Why ask it
The list is short: age, citizenship or legal residency, education, a qualifying test score, a medical exam, fitness and a background check. Go down it with the recruiter and mark each item as met, not met or needs a waiver. A single 'not sure' on that page is where your next week of phone calls and paperwork should go.
Which documents should I bring so you can open my file?
Why ask it
Expect to be asked for a birth certificate, a Social Security card, photo identification and proof of education, with more if you are married, have children, were born abroad or have a court record. Originals or certified copies are usually wanted, and replacing a lost one can take weeks. Get the full list on the first visit so the slow requests can start that day.
What are the height and weight limits, and how close am I?
Why ask it
Get weighed and measured in the office instead of giving your own numbers. The limit is checked when you join the pool and again before you ship, so being barely inside it in spring is no help if you are outside it by ship day. If you are over, ask whether a body fat measurement applies and how long you would have to get there.
Can you run me through the initial strength test this week so I have a real baseline?
Why ask it
A timed test in front of someone who has to record the numbers is worth more than your own estimate. Passing the minimum gets you shipped, but recruits who arrive at the minimum tend to have a harder time. Find out what scores the people who did well from this office left with.
Would anything in my medical history or my record need a waiver, and who decides it?
Why ask it
The recruiter assembles a waiver but does not grant it, so 'that will be fine' is a forecast, not a ruling. Ask where the decision is made, how long recent ones took, and whether you can keep training with the pool while you wait. A waiver can add months, which matters if you are planning around a graduation or a lease.
Do I have to list things like a childhood inhaler, old counseling or a dismissed charge?
Why ask it
List it and let the process decide whether it matters; plenty of old, minor things end as a note in the file. If anyone coaches you to forget a diagnosis, a prescription or an arrest, the risk of that omission stays with you for the whole enlistment, not with the person who suggested it. It is also a fair reason to ask for a different recruiter.
How does the medical screening check my history, and which records should I bring?
Why ask it
Ask whether the processing station pulls prescription and insurance records itself, because that changes what turns up without your help. Either way, arriving with your own paperwork for an old injury, a surgery or a medication you stopped is quicker than a second trip. The recruiter knows which documents the doctors there ask for most.
When will I be drug tested, and what happens if something shows up?
Why ask it
Count on a test at the processing station and do not assume it is the last. If you have used anything recently, the time to say so is before the test, when the recruiter can explain the current rule and whether waiting is an option. A positive result on the day is a far harder conversation than an honest one in the office.
What is the current tattoo policy, and do any of mine need to be looked at?
Why ask it
The rules on size and placement have been rewritten more than once, so what an older Marine told you may be out of date. Have yours looked at and documented now, and ask whether any of them would limit a later assignment. Check again before getting a new one while you wait to ship.
Does a GED instead of a diploma, or still being in high school, change what I can sign?
Why ask it
Education sorts applicants into tiers, and a traditional diploma is the easiest one to enlist from. With a GED the usual question is whether some college credit moves you up, so bring transcripts. If you are still in school, find out what happens to the contract if graduation slips.
Does my citizenship or immigration status change which jobs I can have?
Why ask it
Permanent residents can generally enlist, but jobs that need a security clearance are normally closed to them until they naturalize, so get the list of fields that is actually open to you. Anything said about a faster path to citizenship should be checked against an official immigration source before you count on it.
I am seventeen: what do my parents have to sign, and can they sit in on this?
Why ask it
Enlisting at seventeen takes a parent's or guardian's written consent, so they will be part of this whether or not the meetings include them. Bringing a doubtful parent in early is easier on everyone than a surprise at the signature. If you are ever asked to keep the conversation from your family, slow down.
Is anything different for women: the standards, the depot, the jobs open?
Why ask it
Have the recruiter show you how the fitness tests are scored for women, which depot female recruits from this station ship to, and whether any job is closed to you. Then ask to be put in touch with a woman Marine. A male recruiter is describing a squad bay he did not live in.
Do I swear in on my first trip to the processing station, and how does that day run?
Why ask it
It is a long day of testing, medical checks, paperwork and waiting, it starts very early, and many applicants are put up in a hotel the night before. Knowing the order of events keeps you from signing the last form in a hurry because you want to go home. Ask which of the day's signatures is the one that commits you.
Training
How soon could I ship to boot camp, and what are the steps between now and then?
Why ask it
The usual order is the aptitude test, the medical exam, choosing a program, the oath into the delayed entry program and then a wait for your date. That wait can be a few weeks or most of a year, depending on the program, the season and whether you are still in school. Tell the recruiter the earliest and latest dates that suit you before asking what is available, so the date is built around your plans as well as the office's month.
How long is boot camp, and what happens in each part of it?
Why ask it
Marine recruit training runs about thirteen weeks, the longest basic training of any branch, and that count includes the first days of haircuts, gear issue and paperwork. Ask for the current schedule phase by phase, since the order of the rifle range, swim week and field training has been rearranged before. A copy for your family lets them read your letters with a calendar beside them.
What could get me dropped from the pool between signing and ship day?
Why ask it
The wait can run for months, and the contract assumes you arrive as the person who signed it. An arrest, a failed drug test, a new injury, weight gain or not graduating can each undo it. Find out what you are required to report and how quickly, down to a traffic ticket or a new prescription.
How often do the poolees here train together, and what do the sessions cover besides fitness?
Why ask it
Workouts with the other people waiting to ship are free preparation, and they show you how the recruiters treat people who have already signed. Some offices also teach rank structure, drill and customs. If you have a job or a sport, say how many sessions you can make and see how that lands.
How should I train between now and ship day?
Why ask it
Build the plan around what is tested: running, pull-ups or push-ups, and the plank. General gym time helps less than those three done several times a week. Ask what the recruiter has seen injure eager poolees, because shin and foot trouble from adding miles too fast can cost a ship date, and ask whether hiking with a pack is worth practicing or better left until you have issued boots.
What should I know by heart before I step off the bus?
Why ask it
The general orders, the rank insignia and the hymn are far easier to memorize at your kitchen table than at the depot when you are exhausted. Get the current list from the recruiter instead of trusting a forum post from years ago. Whatever you already know on arrival is one less thing to learn while being shouted at.
Which depot would I ship to, Parris Island or San Diego, and do I get a say?
Why ask it
The answer has traditionally depended on which side of the country you enlist from, not on what you would prefer. Knowing early matters most to your family, who will want to plan a trip to graduation. Climate is the other reason to ask: summer in South Carolina and the hills in California are different things to train for.
What does a recruit have to pass to graduate: rifle, swim, fitness, the Crucible?
Why ask it
Each is a gate, and failing one usually means repeating that stretch with a later platoon, not going home. Get the list in order, with roughly when each falls. It turns a blur of dread into a handful of specific things, most of which you can start on now.
I am not a strong swimmer: what does swim qualification involve?
Why ask it
It is done in uniform, not swimwear, and it rewards staying calm and afloat more than speed. Recruits who struggle get extra instruction, but that is a rough way to learn. A few lessons at a public pool before you ship are cheap insurance, so ask what the test consists of now and practice that.
Which part of boot camp do recruits from this office most often struggle with?
Why ask it
Someone who follows their own recruits through the depot can say whether it is the running, the heat, the homesickness or being shouted at from a few inches away. A specific answer gives you something to work on. A speech about mental toughness does not.
If I get hurt at the depot, do I heal there and rejoin training, or get sent home?
Why ask it
Both happen. Recruits with injuries that will mend are typically held in a medical platoon and then dropped into a later company, which can add weeks or months. If the injury ends training, the kind of separation you leave with affects benefits and whether you can try again, so get that part spelled out.
What happens if I get to boot camp and decide I want to quit?
Why ask it
Saying 'I quit' does not put you on a bus home. A recruit who refuses to train is usually counseled and kept training, and those who are eventually separated tend to spend weeks waiting in a holding platoon first. Ask how many of this office's recruits came home early in the past year and why. The answer says as much about how the office prepares people as about how hard the depot is.
How will my family hear from me during boot camp, and can they come to graduation?
Why ask it
Letters are the main channel, with a short scripted phone call on arrival and little after that. Tell your family before you leave so a silent month is not read as bad news. The recruiter can also explain how relatives get on base for family day and graduation, and how an emergency message reaches you in the meantime.
What can I bring with me, and what should I leave at home?
Why ask it
Very little: the list is short, and nearly everything else is issued to you or boxed up on the first night. Check specifically on your phone, prescriptions, glasses or contacts and a bank card, the four things people most often get wrong. Leave behind anything you would mind losing.
What should I put in order at home before I ship: bank account, bills, car, phone plan?
Why ask it
Pay goes by direct deposit, so you need a working account before you leave, and anything billed monthly keeps billing while you cannot answer email. Decide who can open your mail and who holds the car keys. Recruiters hear afterward what earlier poolees forgot, so ask for that list.
How long is it from the day I ship to the day I reach my first unit?
Why ask it
Add boot camp, leave, combat training or infantry school and the job school, plus the waits between them. For a short school the total is around half a year; for the longest it is well over a year. That date, not graduation, is when a fixed address and ordinary weekends begin.
My friend and I want to go together: what does the buddy program actually cover?
Why ask it
At best it puts two people on the same ship date and in the same platoon through boot camp. After graduation each of you goes where your job sends you. Check what happens if one of you is held up by a waiver or an injury, and do not choose a job to follow a friend.
Pay and benefits
What does a private take home each month, and what comes out of it at boot camp?
Why ask it
Base pay tables are public, so the useful part of the answer is the deductions. Taxes and insurance come out all year, and during boot camp some of what you are handed in the first days is charged against your pay. Ask for a rough figure for the first deposit so nobody at home is counting on more.
What benefits come on top of the pay: health care, housing, food, time off?
Why ask it
A junior Marine's base pay looks small until you count the barracks room, the chow hall, medical and dental care and thirty days of leave a year that come with it. Have each one described as it works for a single private and then for a married one, because housing and food change the most. Ask what is not covered too, such as a family member's dental care or the cost of travel home.
Is there a bonus on any program I qualify for, and what would make me pay it back?
Why ask it
Bonuses come and go with what the Corps is short of, and they attach to particular programs, contract lengths and sometimes ship dates. They are taxed, and they are not always paid in one piece. Read the repayment condition before the amount: failing the school or leaving early can turn a bonus into a debt.
Could college credits, JROTC or Eagle Scout get me in as a private first class?
Why ask it
Shipping one rank up means more pay from the first day and a head start on the next promotion. Whatever qualifies has to be documented before you leave, so ask what counts at the moment and what proof is needed. The rank can also be offered for referring other applicants, and how you feel about recruiting your friends is your call.
How long do I have to serve before the GI Bill covers a full degree?
Why ask it
The share of tuition it pays rises with months of active service, and the kind of discharge you leave with decides whether you keep it. Passing it to a spouse or child comes with a further service commitment. If school is your main reason for enlisting, read the Department of Veterans Affairs pages yourself instead of relying on anyone's summary, this one included.
Do Marines in this job have time for college classes, and who pays for them?
Why ask it
Tuition help during service is a separate program from the GI Bill, with its own eligibility rules and yearly limit. Being eligible and having a free evening are different things, though. A unit that is in the field half the year and an office with regular hours give very different answers, so ask about the job, not the benefit.
Do I get leave after boot camp, and how hard is it to take in the first year?
Why ask it
A short leave right after graduation is normal, and it is often the last easy one for a while. Leave keeps building on paper, but training schedules and a new unit decide when you can spend it. Ask about the winter holidays in particular, since that is the question your family will put to you.
How does retirement work, and what would I keep if I got out after one enlistment?
Why ask it
The pension is for people who stay for a full career, and most Marines leave well before that. What matters to someone doing four years is the savings plan: when your own contributions start, when the government's matching begins and whether that money leaves with you. The system was rebuilt some years ago, so an older relative may describe rules that no longer apply.
Service life
Where do Marines in this job usually get sent first: the Carolinas, California, Japan?
Why ask it
Most of the Corps sits in a few places, and the job narrows them further, since some fields exist at only two or three bases. You will be asked for a preference and it will be weighed against what the units need. The realistic shortlist tells you about cost of living, distance from home and whether a car makes sense.
What are the barracks rules for a junior Marine: roommates, inspections, a car, weekends?
Why ask it
Single Marines in the lower ranks live in the barracks, normally with a roommate, regular room inspections and limits on guests. How far you may travel on a weekend and when you may bring a car are set by the unit, so treat the answers as typical, not as promises. Ask what it takes to move off base during a first enlistment.
When the unit is home, how much of the week is the job itself and how much is everything else?
Why ask it
Most of an enlistment is spent in garrison: formations, maintenance, cleaning for inspection, working parties and overnight duty in the barracks. Some jobs practice their trade every day and others mostly rehearse it. If the ordinary week sounds tolerable the job probably suits you, because the exciting parts are a small share of the time.
How often do Marines in this job deploy, and how long are they gone each time?
Why ask it
Expect a range, because it follows the unit's schedule and not a rule. A common pattern is several months away followed by a longer stretch at home, though some jobs rarely leave the base. Count the field exercises and workups before a deployment as well: those nights away are not called deployed, and families feel them just the same.
Would this job put me on a Navy ship, on a rotation to Japan, or mostly at home?
Why ask it
Where a Marine goes matters as much as how often, and it depends on the unit more than the job title. Months aboard ship with an expeditionary unit are a different life from a rotation to Okinawa or a desk that never moves. What the last two years looked like for people in this job is worth more than a general statement about readiness.
How likely is it that someone in this job ends up in combat?
Why ask it
Nobody can promise you either way, and anyone who does is guessing about the next four years of world events. What can be answered is what the job did on recent deployments. Keep in mind that every Marine is trained as a rifleman first, whatever the job title says.
I am married or have a child: what has to be filed before I ship, and what do they get while I am away?
Why ask it
Dependents have to be enrolled before health coverage and the housing allowance reach them, and the documents are easier to gather while you are still home. Your spouse should know who to call if the pay is late while you cannot be phoned. If you are a single parent, raise custody first, because the rules on it can decide whether you can enlist at all.
How long do Marines in this job usually take to make corporal?
Why ask it
The first two promotions come mostly with time. Corporal and sergeant are competitive within each job, so a crowded field can leave good Marines waiting while a short-handed one promotes quickly. Rank sets your pay, your room and how much of your day you control, which makes this a bigger question than it sounds.
Why should I choose the Marine Corps over the Army, Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard?
Why ask it
The answer will come with pride, and the useful part is whatever concrete follows it: a smaller service, every Marine trained to fight, a harder boot camp, a name that carries weight. Hold each reason up against what you want from four years. Wanting the title is a sound reason to enlist. Wanting one particular technical trade may point to a different office.
What do the other branches do better than the Marine Corps?
Why ask it
Listen for a real answer: more jobs to choose from, more technical schools, bigger bonuses, more comfortable bases. Being told the truth here is a reason to trust the rest. If every comparison comes out in favor of the Corps you are hearing a pitch, and it is worth an hour in the office next door.
If I later want to become an officer, what are the routes from here?
Why ask it
Officer programs run through a separate office and generally need a degree, so an enlisted recruiter may only know the outline. The paths from the enlisted ranks to a commission exist and are competitive. If a commission is the real goal, ask for the officer selection officer for your area and talk to them before you sign anything enlisted.
What do most of your recruits do when their first contract ends: stay in or get out?
Why ask it
Recruiters stay in touch with some of the people they shipped, so expect a rough picture, not a figure. The reasons people give for getting out make a good list of things to ask about now, while you can still choose a different job or not sign. Notice whether the ones who stayed are in the job you are considering.
Talking to a Marine recruiter
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Understand the role you are talking to
A recruiter has a monthly mission to make. That does not make them dishonest, but it does mean their interests and yours are not identical. Treat the conversation as you would any major commitment: take notes, ask for documents, and be slow. Nothing in a recruiting conversation has to be decided the same day.
Words you will hear in the office
- ASVAB: the aptitude test every applicant takes. The overall score decides whether you can enlist, and the composite scores decide which fields are open to you.
- MOS: military occupational specialty, the Marine Corps word for a job.
- Program: the group of related jobs that most enlistment contracts name instead of a single MOS.
- Open contract: an enlistment with no program named, where the Marine Corps chooses the field.
- Lateral move: a change from one MOS to another after you are in, usually handled when a Marine reenlists.
- Processing station (MEPS): where the aptitude test, the medical exam and the oath take place.
- Delayed entry program: the months between signing and shipping. People in it are called poolees.
- IST: the initial strength test, the fitness check you have to pass before you can ship.
- Depot: one of the two recruit training bases, Parris Island in South Carolina and San Diego in California.
- The Crucible: the final field exercise of recruit training.
- Combat training: the course new Marines attend after boot camp, unless they are infantry, who go to infantry school instead.
Spread the list over more than one visit
Nobody gets through a list this long in one sitting, and you should not try. Take Jobs and Qualifying to the first meeting, since they decide whether there is anything to discuss. Bring Contract and Pay and benefits once a specific program is on the table and before the trip to the processing station. Training and Service life can wait for the weeks in the pool, when you will see the recruiter regularly anyway. If two answers to the same question differ between visits, say so and ask which one is in the paperwork.
Practical steps
- Bring your own list of questions and write the answers down with the date.
- Take a parent or a friend to at least one meeting, especially if you are under twenty.
- Ask to take a practice aptitude test at the office before you talk about specific jobs, so the conversation is about real options.
- Visit at least one other branch's office. The comparison is useful even if you come straight back.
- Read the enlistment paperwork line by line and ask for a copy to take away before signing.
- Check pay tables, benefit rules and job descriptions against official published sources instead of a summary.
What to insist on in writing
- The program, and the list of jobs inside it.
- Contract length: the active years and the reserve obligation after them.
- Any bonus, its conditions and the repayment terms.
- The rank you ship at, if you were told it would be higher than private.
- Any school or option you were told came with the program.
- Anything at all that would change your decision if it turned out not to be true.
If you feel rushed
Pressure to sign before you have read the paperwork, to leave something out of your medical or legal history, or to decide before you can talk to anyone else are all reasons to stop. You can ask to speak to the Marine in charge of the office, and you can walk away and come back. Recruiting misconduct exists and can be reported up the chain of command at the recruiting station.